Opening the Matrix: A Journey Beyond the Veil
The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment Marianne Williamson. begins immediately. … A miracle changes how we view the world, piercing the veil of illusion that keeps us trapped in pain and suffering.
THE ASTRAL PLANES
From the Ptolemaic system of spheres all the way to Jean Dubuis’ invaluable “Fundamentals of Esoteric Knowledge” we find that the infinite, absolute, Un-Manifested World is separated from the Manifested World by an impenetrable veil, known as the Veil of Abyss. Under any circumstances, it is impossible for the human mind to reach beyond this veil, until it returns to Unity, for “in the language of finite words infinite will never be encompassed” (Eliphas Levi).
Within the Manifested World there are ten planes of existence delimitated by the respective levels of vibration of the constitutive elements, grouped into four areas also separated by veils. Each of these planes has its specific roles, functions and polarity. Planes 1, 2 and 3, governed by the element Fire, constitute the World of Archetypes and Creators.
This “infinite-finite buffer – a buffer between the Manifested World and The All – is the First Cause of Creation, and carries within the Prima Materia (First Plane), the potentiality of duality (Second Plane) and the potentiality of form (Third Plane). In order to have a clear understanding of what this means, we should point out that this potentiality stands for the ability to possess in a non-manifested or latent state all the essential conditions for manifestation of duality and shape, as well as the reference point or demarcation between the two potential states, or the 0 (zero) point.
Potential duality is given by the unitary nature of the mind of The All and refers to the possibility of acquisition of polarity, such as for example the dissolution of the 0 (zero or neutral) value in positive and negative, male and female. If we consider the Yin Yang symbol as being manifested duality, we can easily picture how before separation its nature was a grey, neutral mass. We would also easily grasp the meaning of the two smaller circles, one black and one white within their respective opposite polarities.
There is no greater wisdom than the understanding that first, nothing is of absolute value in either halves and second, that if the halves were absolute — that is only white or only black, due to the constant rotating motion they would tend to go back on each other and by so doing, to merge and reinstate the original grey, to undo manifestation and cease movement. But the little black circle pushes the white to fight within its own half in order to maintain shape, and so does the little white circle for the black half. Moreover, the little circles are subject to the attraction from their own nature, and each of them would chase their own, to merge with it. Light separated from light by darkness, darkness separated from darkness by light — and that makes the carousel spin.
The two halves therefore acquire the form and once form is established, they both stand opposite the point of reference, in this case the centre of the circle, around which movement has been initiated. That centre point is the only one in the circle with 360 degrees perspective, and it preserves the same qualities as the original grey: it is neutral, undifferentiated, and has no movement, for it takes at least two points to make a rotation; this point is still Prima Materia.
It is the same point which marks the halfway between Zenith and Nadir, where cause and effect merge, it is the point where the pendulum of moods finds its imperceptible balance and stillness, for whatever is in constant motion strives for the lack of it. It is the space between in breath and out breath that makes the key of many systems and their breathing techniques, which in some individuals do not produce the desired effect for they lack the understanding of the process. It serves no purpose to practice the square breathing if we do not know what tremendous power we are trying to access and for what reason. From it and around it, the same elements the point still holds as potential tend to annihilate and merge to each other in order to obtain the equilibrium they have lost. For that reason it has been given the name of the Point of Manifestation.
To be like the centre of the circle is the perpetual purpose of each pole of duality, and this fight takes place at many levels, with many degrees of density and vibration in between. And it would be not without interest to observe the fact that it is not the greater white or the greater black that are the active forces within the big circle, but the little isolated circles. The engine (active power) is never bigger than the car itself, which would not go anywhere on its own, for it is passive.
And the same applies for every single action-reaction example one may think of within the Manifested World, for as above, so below. During this separation of Prima Materia emerges the primordial Fire from which the Divine Spark or Matrix is born, and so the alchemic process begins. It has been noted in several works already that all alchemic stages of turning lead into gold can be successfully interpreted to apply to the human being and to his evolution on Earth.
There is one thing though that needs to be made clear: in what concerns the alchemical ingredients, the human’s physical body is associated with the salt of the Earth, not with the lead. The lead is nothing else but the soul, and the connection between various metals and governing planets of each astral plane confirms it.
The Divine Spark or Spirit is not the Alchemical Gold either, but it is that part of each of us that makes the transmutation possible: our own Point of Manifestation, our own invaluable micron of Prima Materia. For without the tremendous power of potentiality of the Prima Materia, there’s no alchemical gold.
The spheres from 4 to 10 inclusive correspond to the finite aspen of the Manifested World as such: 4-S-6, governed by the element Air bear the denomination of Solar Astral, and 7-8-9 are known as forming the Lunar Astral, governed by the principle of Water. Between the World of Archetypes and the Solar Astral lies the Veil of Abyss of which we have spoken at the beginning of this chapter. The Lunar Astral is separated from the Solar Astral by the Veil of Second Death, known in some books as the Veil of Parochet.
The last of the spheres, the tenth, where Earth is the dominant element, is the World of Matter, the world in which we live, the only one readily visible to the individual human consciousness: our material Universe. Between us and the higher astral planes unfolds the final veil, the Veil of Life and Death. Its name comes from the fact that this veil is the last one the spirit and the soul cross on their path towards matter, and the first they pierce after the death of the physical body.
The veils are meant to fulfill two very important roles: during the descent they shroud certain parts of the memory held by the Divine Matrix, and during the Path of Return they restore this memory. They do not delete it, but merely hide it. The memory of the Divine Matrix is the memory of the Prima Materia and it holds within the 3 aspects of the Divine: the Love, the Knowledge and the Will.
Our evolution depends greatly on the effort we put into remembering and using these concepts. When a Divine Spark emerges from the Primordial Fire, the Cosmic Wind pushes it towards manifestation into matter. This is a several steps process that we shall describe in detail later, but first we need to understand the Cosmic Wind. From the rotation or the movement of Creation a current appears, and that current — because Creation has one direction, that of evolution — has also one direction, namely towards matter. It is very similar to an idea that at first sparks in our minds then gradually gains shape and is made visible by being turned into writing, sound or form. Via the same natural pattern of manifestation, the Divine Spark is pushed towards the 10th sphere to experience Life.
This same Cosmic Wind though, that helps the Spark or Spirit get into form, will prevent it from going back to the Primordial Fire, for it never changes direction, and it always blows towards matter. The first 3 astral planes do not add any extra shells to the Divine Spark, but by nature and by force of resonance, certain influences of the governing planets will end up manifesting in this world. At the entrance into the Solar Astral, the Veil of Abyss will circle the Divine Spark with the first shell of oblivion, which will weaken the connection between the Spark and the Mind from which it sprang.
The Divine Will is the first thing that becomes occulted. On top of this layer, each of the Astral Spheres adds another and another, but this time these layers are not for the purpose of forgetting. They could be considered tools as well as protective shields for the future physical body, for expecting matter in its dense form and low level of vibration to support the Divine Spark is much like the paradox of infinity in a nutshell. We have given these layers the name of bodies of soul. Another veil of darkness covers the first three bodies of soul as they carry on descending through the Veil of the Second Death, this time in order to keep hidden the Divine Love.
By Divine Love we understand the perfect harmony and the awareness of our source, and not the human definition of love, with its aspects of affection and attachment. Three more bodies of soul are collected from the Lunar Astral Planes and now the Divine Spark, surrounded by two veils and protected by 6 bodies of soul is ready to go through the last veil, and to leave behind the Divine Knowledge and with that all it has experienced in the Astral World.
We could compare the Divine Spark with an actor getting ready for a show, but who, underneath his make-up and change of personality according to his role, and even if forgetting for a few hours his true nature, is still an actor and never becomes the character he plays. But Shakespeare’s words — “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” — do make us wonder if “actor” is not a role play as well… Why is this forgetting necessary? Would it not be better for all of us to remember all these things as soon as we get hold of our consciousness?
We die in a higher dimension to be born on Earth, where our boundaries are defined by a physical body that bears the soul attributes given to us in order to fulfill our mission. On Earth again we die to be reborn in the immediate higher dimension, so that we can start the Path of Return… a circuit out of which the shortest segment – though it may seem incredible – is taking place on Earth… In what concerns the planes, they share this particular role of equipping the Spark in its descent with the bodies of the soul with which the information activated within the Spark resonates.
Thus, when crossing the Veil of Life and Death towards matter, the Divine Spark is to be surrounded by six soul bodies and to have 3 more or less obvious influences from the first three spheres. Once born, the physical body will generate an aura, to which some erroneously give spiritual attributes. Aura reflects merely the degree of presence and the combination of the Elements in the physical body. All the tools necessary to fulfill our mission on earth (which is embedded in the matrix) are to be found in the energetic information of these bodies, which are related to the physical body through the chakras.
Moreover, to facilitate their use, the DNA is in perfect harmony with the information and the array of tools pertaining to the soul bodies, these tools being none other than all positive and negative character traits, the innate skills and talents fitted to each individual. In order to better understand how exactly the bodies of soul are assigned to a specific Divine Spark, it would be useful to imagine a thread connecting it with the DNA. When the Spark has sprung into being, the Law of Cause and Effect operates in order to facilitate the right DNA combination to suit the Divine Spark — and the reason why this would be the order is first because the higher planes command the lower and not the other way around, and second because time does not have the same meaning nor value here as there.
